Restaurant Guide 2006

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Take your chances nabbing a table at this no-reservations primo Italian cafe. It's booked up nightly for good reason: the food continues to live up to its simple-yet-superb reputation. Even the brief menu's simplest dish, an insalata mista tossed in a perfectly weighted vinaigrette of extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, reigns without competition among area trattorias. The semolina gnocchi, thick with butter and Parmesan, is baked under a salsa rossa, allowing for digging into a sturdy casserole rather than picking through a plate of individual dumplings. Current entrees include wild salmon and Sudan Farm lamb skewers over a chickpea-and-arugula salad. The cafe's liveliness trumps conversation at times, but the food and careful service make this a Portland keeper. (AA)